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Technology - Absorption Chillers
The Absorption Chiller is a chemical heat pump that is based on the principle that water molecules bind more efficiently to a hydroscopic salt than to each other. When water is introduced into a chamber, because of this attraction to the salt, it evaporates very rapidly and thus creates the cooling effect. The heat is then transferred to the salt and is rejected to the outside.
The Lithium Bromide-based absorption chiller, an air-conditioner that “chills” water which then cools the air, has been around since the 1950’s. They have been used as a simple cooling system when there was free or inexpensive waste-heat or steam available.
The basic principle of a heat-driven absorption chiller and a conventional air-conditioner are the same: the cooling effect is achieved by evaporation of a refrigerant at a lower pressure; condensing the refrigerant at a higher pressure rejects the heat. The conventional air-conditioner accomplishes this by electric energy while an absorption chiller accomplishes this by heat energy and the chemical affinity of water for a salt (Lithium Bromide).
The Lithium Bromide-based absorption chiller, an air-conditioner that “chills” water which then cools the air, has been around since the 1950’s. They have been used as a simple cooling system when there was free or inexpensive waste-heat or steam available.
The basic principle of a heat-driven absorption chiller and a conventional air-conditioner are the same: the cooling effect is achieved by evaporation of a refrigerant at a lower pressure; condensing the refrigerant at a higher pressure rejects the heat. The conventional air-conditioner accomplishes this by electric energy while an absorption chiller accomplishes this by heat energy and the chemical affinity of water for a salt (Lithium Bromide).
Absorption Chiller Diagram
